You're My Light When It's Dark
by luckyducky516
Summary: Percy and Annabeth both have hard lives. They have parental problems, as well as other issues. When they meet one day they instantly feel a connection to one another. They become good friends and find comfort in each other. Soon they fall in love though, and have to deal with the chaos that love brings into their already complicated lives. Rated T for language and mature topics.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone and thanks for clicking on this! :D You guys are awesome!**

**Okay, if you have read my last story you know that my Grammar and Spelling suck, and that I have absolutely no business on here. But I love writing stories and I couldn't help myself. I did try though, and I hope I did a little better this time.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. :'( **

** Characters are OOC in this story, but hopefully not too much. :) **

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Percy jumped up from his bed startled when his door suddenly flew open, his heartbeat only increasing from anger when he saw Gabe at the door. "Get the hell out of my room!" Percy yelled at the short fat man that was his step dad.

Gabe Growled and clenched his fist in anger. "Listen here you little punk, I pay the bills here so this is my room!" Gabe yelled, and went further into Percy's room. He gave his annoyed step son a wicked sneer and pushed him against the wall.

"What do you want now?" Percy asked, leaning his head away from him, Gabe's pungent smell was making him sick. Gabe tightened his hold on Percy's shirt and looked towards his bed side drawer. "I know what you've been doing, and unless you want me to tell your mommy, you need to give me some hush money." Gabe said, and then released his hold on Percy.

Percy hatefully glared at him and pushed him away. "Fuck you! I'm not giving you anything."

Gabe's ugly face turned red in anger at hearing Percy. He used to intimidate him easily when he was little, but now that Percy was sixteen, he was more rebellious.

"Fuck you, you annoying little smart mouth, bastard!" Gabe yelled, and punched Percy in the jaw. Percy's hand quickly clutched at his jaw in pain, rage clouding his judgment, he then turned and tackled his step dad.

They stumbled onto his bed, where Percy quickly began punching him in the face as hard as he could. Gabe looked dazed as Percy hit him, but then he recovered quickly and pushed Percy off, sending him stumbling onto the ground. He got up and kicked Percy in the ribs, and then continued kicking him in the head and face.

"Did you actually think you could beat me?" Gabe laughed as he kicked Percy in the stomach. Percy laid there clutching his stomach, jaw, and anywhere else Gabe would kick him.

When Gabe decided Percy had enough, he stopped and went to Percy's drawer. He opened it and grabbed Percy's bag of money, and then stuffed it in his pocket. "I was only going to take half, but since you decided to be a difficult jerk, I'm taking all of it." He said as he walked by Percy, only stopping to kick him in the stomach one last time before finally leaving.

"Smelly pig," Percy muttered and picked himself off the floor. He then walked to the bathroom to examine his face in the mirror. He had a cut on his lip and a big bruise forming on his left eye. "Wonderful, another black eye," Percy said while gently touching it with his fingertips. He grabbed a towel and soaked it with cold water, and then applied it to his eye.

As he dabbed his eye with the towel, he pulled out his cell phone and called his best friend, Grover. "Hey Grover," Percy said when his friend answered. "I need you to meet me at the park before school." After Grover agreed, Percy hung up and went to his room to change.

****Page Break****

Percy stepped out into the chilly fall weather and shook his head in annoyance at the idiots in his neighborhood. It was only 7am and his neighbors were already either buying or selling drugs, drinking, fighting or stealing. He secured his backpack tightly, and headed out into the crowed busy streets of New York City.

As he walked through his graffiti and litter filled neighborhood, he barely managed to dodge a man who had just snatched a lady's bag. Percy didn't even try to get involved, he grew up in the not so nice parts of the city, and was used to seeing crimes happen all the time. He himself was guilty of some crimes.

He arrived at the park before Grover, and decided to wait for him at the bench where they usually hang out at. As he sat there waiting, he thought about how much he hates his step dad. He always complains about everything Percy does. If Percy eats he complains about how much he eats, when he sleeps he says that Percy is lazy, and even when Percy doesn't go home he complains about it.

He is always ranting to his friends about how Percy is a useless brat that is good for nothing but taking up space, and ruining his alone time with Percy's mother.

He use to hit Percy a lot and take the little money his mom would manage to give him, but that stopped when Percy got older and began to fight back. While he was a good fighter and in good shape, he still couldn't beat up his step dad. He however did put up a good enough fight as to make Gabe think twice about hitting him. Usually, the black eye forming was proof that Gabe still kicked his ass from time to time.

"Ouch, that stupid jerk," Percy winced and complained, as he massaged his sore ribs. The bruise from last time had barley healed, and now he was sure he was going to have an even bigger one.

He was used to it though. His mom married Gabe when Percy was eight, and he has been making his life miserable since then. He couldn't even understand why his mom, who was the sweetest person ever, ended up with that smelly pig.

He didn't deserve her. His mom is beautiful, smart, sweet, and caring, while Gabe is a lazy abusive alcoholic. She had told him that he was too young to understand when he was little, but now that he's older, she still doesn't give him a reason. He knows it's not love, the way her eyes light up when she talks about his father is love, but when she talks about Gabe, she looks miserable. Percy was determined to get himself and his mother away from him, and to do so, he began selling drugs.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his friend, Grover, sat next to him. "Hey, what's up man?" Grover said as he sat down.

Percy didn't respond, so Grover turned to nudge him. "What happened to you? Did you get in a fight with your step dad again?" He asked, upon noticing Percy's injuries. He knows how Gabe is and he worries about his friend. He still remembers how he and Nico used to patch him up after Gabe would beat him up.

"Yeah, but that's not important. What hurts more is that he took all of my money!" Percy said.

"What! How did he even know you had it?" Grover asked.

"I don't know. He took all my savings and the pick up money," Percy said miserably. He had had been saving for months, he had 8,500 dollars so that he and his mom could use to move out of Gabe's house. Now not only did he loose that, but the money he needed to pick up more drugs and make more money. "I need to do something. I'm tired of him, and leaving isn't an option anymore."

Grover looked at him curiously. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking I should accept Kronos' offer," Percy said, making Grover's eyes go wide.

"No! Are you crazy? That man is dangerous and can't be trusted!" Grover yelled worriedly. He stood up to confront Percy, and almost fell over his crutches.

"I know, but what other choice do I have! I can't allow that pig to lay another finger on me, and definitely not on my mother!" Percy yelled and got off the bench. He helped his friend steady himself, then looked at the floor, refusing to meet Grover's disappointed gaze.

Kronos was bad news; he is a gang leader and the biggest drug dealer around. He had offered Percy a spot with them, but Percy wasn't stupid enough to join. The only reason he was considering it now was because he was desperate.

Grover sighed. "Look Percy, just don't make any rash decisions. I would be glad to give you some money. You could get more 'product' and start saving again. With my help and Nico's, you'll have the money in no time."

Percy looked up from his shoes and smiled at him gratefully. Grover and Nico are his best friends, and are always there for him no matter what. "Thanks Grover, but that drunk already knows what I'm doing and is demanding hush money. It's not going to be so easy this time."

"We'll think of something, Percy," Grover said, he was determined to do anything to keep Percy away from Kronos.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, I can't let that smelly drunk bastard, blackmail me. I have an idea," Percy said.

Grover groaned at hearing that. Percy's ideas almost always, involved something illegal. The last idea Percy had ended with him becoming a part time drug dealer. "Goody, I hope it's as good as the joining Kronos idea." Grover said sarcastically.

Percy smirked at him. "It is. Now shut up and let's go find Nico." He said and began to walk off.

"Rats," Grover muttered to himself, before he followed after Percy.

****Page Break****

**Annabeth:**

Annabeth sighed in annoyance as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "I gained two pounds. How the heck is that even possible? She thought as she ran her hands on her stomach. "I haven't eaten in two days. Well, I did drink half of that soda, but there is no way that could be it. I worked out for four hours after that," She muttered thoughtfully, and began doing the math to her calorie intake.

"Annabeth, other people need the bathroom as well! You need to hurry up!" She heard her stepmom yell and knock on the door.

"I'm almost finished!" Annabeth yelled back. She turned to have one last look at her stomach, before she pulled her shirt over her head. "It's bad enough that the cow my father calls his wife is against me, but now my own body is against me as well, that is just great." She thought as she brushed her long, honey blond hair. She put it up in its usual ponytail, and quickly began to brush her teeth.

Annabeth is the perfect student. She gets straight A's in school, she is captain of the math club, captain of the track team, and she tutors kids on weekends. Annabeth knows that she is smart and fit, but she also feels that she could be smarter and in better shape. She studies constantly, only stopping when her best friend forces her, or to work out. She doesn't work out to be skinny for shallow reasons, but to be the best at her sport. Well, maybe a little for shallow reasons. Her mother is smart and gorgeous, and Annabeth couldn't help but want to be exactly like her.

Ever since Annabeth was little she always heard about how smart her mother is, how beautiful her mother is, and how perfect her mother is. Every accomplishment Annabeth has is shadowed by her mother. Her mom was smarter at Annabeth's age, she was better at sports, and from the pictures she has seen, she was more beautiful. Being compared to her all the time was hard, but Annabeth did her best. She loves her mother, and she wants nothing more than to please her.

She left Annabeth and her father to pursue her career when Annabeth was a baby, but she still calls Annabeth, sometimes. Not much though, and that makes Annabeth even more determined to get her attention.

When Annabeth finished she opened the door, and found her stepmom waiting impatiently in front of it. "It's about time, your little brother is in my bathroom, and Matt still needs to use it as well." She said rudely.

"You mean my stepbrother," Annabeth corrected. Her stepmom gave her a dirty look and huffed in annoyance. "Just hurry up and get ready!" She said and walked away. Annabeth smiled at the fact that she bothered her; she bugged Annabeth as well, so she thought she should return the favor.

She went into her bedroom to grab her backpack, and then left without saying goodbye to anyone. She knew they didn't care, so she didn't bother wasting her breath on them. As she walked to the bus stop, she pulled out her phone to text her best friend, Thalia.

"Hey, Thalia, are you on your way to the bus stop, yet?" She texted, and then put her phone away. She arrived at the bus stop, and smiled when she saw her walking up.

Thalia was wearing black skinny jeans and black shirt that had a picture of a Barbie on fire; she had a bunch of custom made shirts similar to that one. Thalia looked at her and pulled her own phone out. She texted something on it, and seconds later Annabeth heard her phone beep.

"Yes I am," The message from Thalia read. Annabeth smiled at it, and continued walking towards her friend.

Thalia is a very intimidating and pretty girl. She has raven black hair that she cut pixie style, gorgeous electric blue eyes, clear soft skin, and a shapely athletic body.

Annabeth is not ugly, she knows that, but for some reason she just doesn't feel pretty enough. Every time she looks in the mirror she thinks about her mother, and hates what she sees. She hates the fact that she doesn't look as beautiful as her, and as stupid as it seems, she thinks that her mother left her because she wasn't perfect like she was.

Her friends tell her that she is beautiful and crazy for thinking otherwise, but she can't help it. Her mother's abandonment and her father's neglect made Annabeth think she wasn't good enough. She feels especially self-conscious when standing next to Thalia or Silena, they like her mother, look like goddess.

"You're such a Nerd sometimes you know that," Annabeth said as reached her friend.

"I think the only Nerd here is you, Miss straight A student." Thalia replied with a teasing grin.

"You know what I mean," Annabeth replied. She doesn't like to curse unlike Thalia, so she says other things. They are usually more cleaver and insulting, but Annabeth was feeling stressed this morning.

"Yeah,yeah, anyway…. have I mentioned how beautiful you look today?" Thalia said, and Annabeth immediately knew she wanted something. Thalia is not one to go around complimenting people, threatening and bossing people around yes, but not complimenting.

"What do you want?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia chuckled and reached into her backpack. "You know me well," she said as she pulled out a notebook.

"Well I should, I've known you since I was seven," Annabeth replied.

Thalia put her notebook in front of Annabeth, and looked at her with her best pleading eyes. "Will you help me my stupid homework?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes at her, but agreed to help her with her math homework. "You could at least have manners and say please, Thalia," Annabeth said, and grabbed the notebook.

Thalia smiled innocently at her. "Yeah, says the girl who just rudely grabbed my notebook."

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you want it back?" Annabeth asked politely.

"No!" Thalia quickly replied.

Annabeth smiled smugly, and then began working on her homework. They worked on it until the bus came, and it was time to leave for school.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Annabeth's part was shorter than I liked, but hopefully it will be longer next chapter. This one just kind of explains their situation.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

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Chapter Two:

"_Mommy, I'm hungry," said a little boy with bright, sea green eyes. He was wearing an oversized t-shirt, ripped jean, and an old ratty pair of shoes. He was skinny and frail looking, and had bags under his eyes. _

_He walked over to his mom who was in the kitchen looking through all the cabinets. She searched each drawer desperately before she finally gave up, and walked over to the table where she put her head down and began to cry._

"_Mommy, are you crying?" the little boy asked. His voice sounded so sad and concerned that when Sally Jackson heard it, she felt like crying harder. She turned her head so that he couldn't see her and wiped her eyes. She then turned to him and motioned for him to come closer. _

"_I'm okay, sweetie. Why don't you go color and I'll make you something to eat," she said to her son. Percy smiled at hearing that, and quickly ran off to his room. _

_About half an hour later he decided he was done coloring, and went to check on his mom. He happily made his way to the kitchen, but froze upon seeing her curled up on the floor crying. His throat tightened in the way it does when one wants to cry, and he slowly made his way towards her. He wasn't sure what to think about the situation, his mom was the strongest person he knew, so seeing her so defeated broke his heart. "Mommy, please don't cry," Percy said, as he sat down next to her. _

_She looked at him with watery puffy red eyes and quickly engulfed him in a tight hug. He was all she had, and she needed his comfort. She held on to him tightly and cried on his shoulder, while Percy hugged her back as tightly as his little arms could._

_When she felt she couldn't cry any longer, she finally spoke. "I'm so sorry baby," she whispered to him. This was the third night her little boy would be going to bed hungry. Percy nodded, already knowing what his mom was talking about. They have never had much, and that included food. _

"_It's, okay mommy, I'm not that hungry anymore," Percy told his mom. Sally ran her finger through his messy black hair, while whispering sorry and promises of things getting better. _

…

"Why mom," Percy muttered as he lay in bed, he had awoken from his dream and was unable to go back to sleep. Every night for the past week he's been having dreams about his childhood that he had forgotten about. "We were better off starving," he said to himself once again, and then pulled the covers over his head. He tried going back to sleep, but failed and tossed and turned for the rest of the night. Finally after what felt like an eternity to him, some sunlight made it through his window and he knew it was time to get up. He groaned as he stretched his muscles, and then tiredly got out of bed.

He poked his head into the hall for any signs of Gabe; once he was sure he was still asleep, he quickly made his way to the bathroom. He locked the door and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Percy frowned at what he saw. His hair was a rat's nest, the one eye that wasn't black had bags, and the bandage covering his nose didn't help his self-confidence much either. Percy shook his head in disappointment, and went to get the first aid kit his mom kept under the sink.

He applied medication to his cut lip, and some make up on his black eye. "At least I can finally take this stupid bandage of," he thought as he slowly peeled it off. His nose still hurt, but it didn't look bad anymore.

Percy's 'brilliant' plan had been to hire some goons to intimidate Gabe and tell him to lay off Percy. It would have been a good plan since they were good at doing that and were recommended by Grover's uncle, but it all back fired on him when it turned out that they were good friends with his step-dad.

When Percy arrived at his apartment, or to Gabe's, as his step-dad always reminds him that he pays the bills, he found the man angrily waiting for him. They got into a huge fight that ended with him having a broken nose, a busted lip, and a huge black eye. The thing nearly covered the right side of his face.

He did some damage to Gabe as well, but not nearly as much as Gabe did to him. What was worst is that Gabe even took out his anger at Percy on his mom. She tried defending him when she came home and found Gabe beating on a nearly unconscious Percy, only to have Gabe turned around and begin hitting her. Percy hated that his mom got hit because of something he did, but if it weren't for his mom getting in the way, Percy knows Gabe would have once again put him in the hospital.

Percy finished with his hair and face then looked at his reflection one more time, he decided that he at least looked decent and left for school before Gabe could wake up. He knew that if they crossed paths in the mood he was in, they would get into another fight, and that was something neither his face nor his mom needed so early in the morning.

As he made his way to school, Percy ignored the usual antics of his neighbors and kept his head down as he walked. He felt disgusted with himself. He couldn't protect his mom, and his plan had failed miserably. Percy could deal with the man hitting him, but he couldn't stand it when he hit is mom. He should be protecting her, not the other way around. When he began selling drugs it was only to escape the nightmare that was life with his step-dad, he was going to quit as soon as they got out, but now he knows Gabe is never going to let him stop. He was now trapped doing the thing that was supposed to set him free.

He arrived at school early like usual, and went straight to his locker. He put his extra books in there, and then pulled out a pack of cigarette. Percy peeked down the halls to make sure no one saw him, and then he left and headed to his smoking spot behind the gym.

Once there he lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply, he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes to try to relax. He knew cigarettes were a horrible habit that his mom would definitely not approve of, but with how his life was, he found it helped with the stress.

He was just starting to relax and enjoy his cigarette, when he heard his friend, Thalia, arguing with someone. "When I see you, I'm kicking your ass, di' Angelo!" He heard her yell.

As her voice got closer, Percy quickly stood up to leave; he was almost out of sight when Thalia spotted him.

"Don't you dare leave Percy; your stupid friend isn't here so I'm taking my anger out on you!" She yelled at him, and then spoke into the phone. "But don't you worry Nico, I'll still have plenty of anger left for you," she said and then hung up.

Percy sighed as he turned to look at Thalia. She looked ready to murder him. "Nice to see you Thalia, you look very, lovely today," Percy said.

She scoffed and walked closer to him. "Cut the crap Jackson and explain to me why you and your idiot friends would give my brother weed!"

"Um… we technically didn't give it to him," Percy replied.

"Whatever! You will not sell or give him anything, again!"

"Yes Thalia, I am so sorry that Nico did that," Percy said, not sounding sorry at all, "It won't happen again."

Thalia glared at him. "It better not! I may be shorter then you, but I can, and will, kick your ass next time."

Percy smiled at that. He had not doubt in his mind that she would try and probably succeed in kicking his ass, considering he would never hit a girl. "I'm sorry, Thalia, I'll talk to him okay. I don't think Nico knew you were going to get so mad."

Thalia eyes soften and she sighed. "Fine, but I'm serious Percy. If he wants to do drugs I know I can't stop him, but I don't want my own friends giving it to him," she said.

Percy nodded, "he just thought that since… well, you know."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want him following my example," she said.

Percy nodded again, and then slowly made his way towards her. They were kind of friends with benefits, so he hoped it would be okay. He reached out for her hand and when she didn't stop him, he intertwined their fingers together. "I really am sorry, Thalia. You're right, and I promise it won't happen again," he said.

Her anger melted away when she saw the sincerity in his green eyes. "Thanks Percy," she said and pulled him closer. Percy didn't make a move though, and they just stood holding hands and staring at each other quietly. "Are you suddenly afraid of me or something?" she asked, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. He smiled against her lips, but it faded as soon as he felt her tongue against his. After making out for a few minutes, Thalia pulled away.

"I have to go, but come by my house later," she said, and then kissed him one last time before turning around to leave. Thalia went to an all-girl school that was just across the street, but Percy knew her because she used to go to his school, and he was friends with her brother, Jason.

Percy watched her until she was out of sight, and then turned to leave himself. It was fifteen minutes until the bell rang, and he had to meet Nico and Grover.

****Page Break****

Hey kid, do you think this a hotel where you could just come in at any time you want? Next time I'm locking your ass out. And I don't care about what Sally says; she'll have to deal with it." Gabe said from his recliner, the very moment Percy walked in.

"It's only 6:30," Percy replied.

Gabe turned around with a livid look on his face. "Don't get smart with me punk, if I say it's late than that means it's late, so you could just shut your mouth! My house, my rules," He added and went back to watching his TV show.

"Whatever, dude," Percy muttered unimpressed, and walked towards his room. Gabe always told him things like that, so they didn't affect him anymore.

"What did you just say?" Gabe asked.

Percy rolled his eyes and turned to his angry step dad. "I said yes sir," Percy lied.

"You better have. Do you know how lucky you are that your mom is pretty? If it weren't for her you would be out in a heartbeat. Stupid useless brat, you should be grateful that you live with me."

"Oh, yes, I am very grateful that I get to live with you. Thank you so much," Percy said sarcastically, and then turned and headed towards his room again.

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you!" Gabe yelled after him.

Percy bit his tongue. He wanted to tell him that he didn't care and that he could go to hell, but he knew it would just lead to another black eye. He instead turned and looked at him expectantly.

"I need you to get me more money as soon as possible, by tomorrow preferably," Gabe said.

"What!" Percy exclaimed baffled. He had just given him 500 dollars the day before. "How do you spend money so fast?"

"I have debts to pay and other things that aren't any of you damn business. You just worry about getting me the money." Gabe said.

"But how am I supposed to do that when you take eve-"

"Not my problem! You better do what you have to get it. If you don't, I'm telling you mommy and calling the cops." He said interrupting Percy.

Percy scoffed. "Fine," he said, knowing it was pointless to argue with him.

"That's a good little worthless, brat. Now get lost, I have friends coming over and I don't want you in our way." He said shooing Percy away as if he were a dog. Percy was about to say something that would surly get him punched in the mouth, when he was interrupted by the door.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot and get the door," Gabe said.

Percy glared at the back of the man's head and then went to answer the door, his eyes going wide when he saw that it was one of his customers. "What the hell are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to never come to my house?" Percy angrily yelled at the man. The man winced and coward at Percy's tone, "y-you weren't answering your phone," the man said.

Percy sighed and led the man away from his house. After making the deal, he decided he needed a distraction and headed towards Thalia's house.

****Page Break****

Annabeth:

"Mom, I'm so glad you called, I have so many things to tell you!" Annabeth happily said.

"I know dear, my assistant informed me about your win in the young architect competition. I'm so proud of you, Annabeth." Annabeth beamed at hearing the compliment. She could hear her mom say it a billion times and it still wouldn't be enough.

"Thank you mom, they told me it was the best they have seen in years, I think it's going to appear in the newspaper as well," Annabeth said proudly, she then remembered all the things her and Silena bought and her excitement doubled. After not seeing her mom for over a year, Annabeth was going to spend the weekend with her in California.

"Mom, I went shopping for my visit and I bought so many things, I even bought Janet something."

When Annabeth heard her mom sigh on the other side of the phone her stomach dropped, she already knew what would be coming. "I told Janet to call you. I'm so sorry dear, but I'm afraid I have to cancel that," Her mom said.

Annabeth felt her eyes water and tears threaten to spill; she swallowed the lump in her throat and found her voice. "Oh…okay," she said, trying to hide her disappointment.

"I have to fly to Paris to begin working on blue prints for a new restaurant, it's for one of my best clients so I couldn't turn it down, you understand…right, sweetie?"

Annabeth wanted to tell her that no, she didn't understand how she could put her job and herself over her own daughter. It seemed like anything was more important than her. She should be her first priority. She however didn't say that, "of course, I know you have a lot to do, maybe some other time," Annabeth said, sounding strong and unfazed.

"That's my girl, I knew you would understand. You are after all just like me," Athena said proudly, unaware of her daughters façade. "I promise to make it up to you sweetheart, as soon as I get back we'll spend the whole week together."

"Yeah, sure we will," Annabeth said under her breath, and then spoke into the phone. "That would be great, mom!" She said with fake enthusiasm, she actually just wanted to hang up and throw the phone against the wall. "I guess I'll talk to you later mom, I promised Thalia I would help her with her homework, and I'm sure you have a lot of work to do."

"I do indeed. I love you sweetie, and I'll talk to you soon."

"Love you to," Annabeth said bitterly, and quickly hung up. She then grabbed the stuffed owl her mom gave her when she was nine and strangled it in frustration. She felt like curling up in bed and crying, but she knew crying was pointless, it wouldn't accomplish anything except for making her eyes red a puffy. She instead grabbed her backpack and left her room.

As she was walking down the stairs she saw her 'family' eating dinner and rolled her eyes. Not that she would have eaten anyway, but it would have been nice if they at least let her know dinner was ready. She ignored the pang she felt at seeing her father so happy and obviously not missing her, and walked towards them. "Dad, I'm going to Thalia's house to study, I'll be back later."

Without even turning to look at his daughter the man nodded, he was too busy explaining a homework assignment to his son. Annabeth groaned in annoyance at being ignored and left.

When she reached Thalia's house, she didn't even bother knocking on the door. She knew her mom was probably out getting drunk as usual, and her brother Jason would be with his girlfriend Piper, since he practically lived with her. Thalia told her to do that anyway, as she always tends to have her radio on as loud as possible and never hears the doorbell ring.

When Annabeth opened the door she heard the loud music coming from Thalia's room, and silently made her way towards it while pulling out her phone. As she expected, Thalia was painting her nails, black of course, and singing loudly to the music. She recorded her for about 20 seconds before bursting into laughter.

Thalia turned towards the door with a deer caught in headlights look that quickly turned into a scowl. "What the hell Annabeth!" She yelled and threw a pillow at her.

Annabeth dodged the pillow and laughed harder, "I'm sorry, I'll delete it," she said, trying to suppress more laughter.

Thalia didn't say anything and simply glared while Annabeth deleted the recording in front of her, once she finished she showed the phone to Thalia and went to sit next to her. "There, happy," Annabeth said.

Thalia smiled triumphantly. "Yes, very," she said, and then went back to painting her nails. As she painted her nails, Annabeth told her about how her mom had bailed on her again.

"You are so lucky; I can only wish my mom would leave. Did I tell you she came home beyond drunk yesterday and threw up all over the kitchen, and guess who had to clean it up?" Thalia said angrily.

Annabeth gave her a sympathetic look. "I think that's why we're best friends Thalia, we both have mommy issues."

Thalia looked at her strangely and then laughed. "Yeah, that is so sad. But admit that I'm also your best friend because I'm awesome," Thalia said happily, and then jumped at the sound of her phone ringing.

She looked at the caller ID and frowned when she saw that it was her mom. "It's that women. I better answer it, she might have gotten arrested again," Thalia said, and then walked out of the room.

Annabeth nodded and began painting her nails as well. Thalia's mom is one of those ladies that try to cling on to their youth; she goes out to parties every day and gets really drunk, she steals Thalia's clothes, tries to hang out with Thalia and her friends, and dates younger guy's. She used to be an actress, but because of her behavior no one is willing to hire her. Ever since Thalia's dad left them she has been going from man to man and doesn't take care of her and her brother properly. Thalia acts uncaring about the situation, but Annabeth knows that it actually hurts her.

Annabeth finished painting her nails and was admiring her handy work, when she heard the doorbell. She could hear that Thalia was still on the phone so she went to answer it.

When she opened the door she found boy in front of her, and her first thought was that he was very cute. He was taller than her and had wind-blown, messy black hair, tan skin, and beautiful captivating sea green eyes. He had a black eye, but it didn't ruin appearance, if anything it added to his appeal. He seemed…mysterious.

When she regained her composure she noticed that he was staring at her, and he seemed to be lost in thought. "Are you here for Thalia or Jason?" Annabeth asked, strangely hoping he said Jason.

He snapped out of whatever daze he was in and gave a dazzling smile. "Umm, Thalia," he said shyly.

At that moment said girl came running down the stairs and pulled him inside. "Hey kelp brain," she said, and gave him a peck on the lips. When they broke apart Thalia was smiling brightly, while Percy blushed and looked at the ground. "Annabeth this is Percy," Thalia said, and then turned towards Percy, "Percy this is Annabeth."

Percy smiled at her and stretched his hand out to shake hers, Annabeth smiled at that and shook his hand. When their hands touched, she felt butterflies in her stomach and quickly retreaded her hand.

"Annabeth, Percy is going to hang out with us, you don't mind…right?" Thalia said.

Annabeth shook her head as she looked into his mesmerizing sea green eyes; she found she couldn't look away from them. He smiled gratefully at her making the butterflies come back, before he was pulled away by Thalia.

As Annabeth watched them walk away, she thought about the weird feeling she felt when he smiled at her or touched her. She didn't know why or what it was, but she didn't like. She sighed and cleared her head of those thoughts, and headed after them.

* * *

**I know I suck for ending it when they finally meet, but I promise I'll update soon. :)**


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